Help me plan my itinerary

[ice-is-forming]

Nearly always cheaper to book as early as you can, very, very rarely they come down in price, but that is very much the exception. And from €89 there’s not really anywhere lower to go. So do book as long as you are sure of your dates, if you can.

Thank you, I edited my post because I re-read the thread and saw that spy had already said that

What trains would need booking? London to Paris, paris to Marseilles and Venice over the alps im guessing?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Generally trains can be booked three months in advance. A little longer for Eurostar, well worth early booking with Eurostar especially, but the others you can book closer to departure, a week or two except at busy times...

 

[ice-is-forming]

Generally trains can be booked three months in advance. A little longer for Eurostar, well worth early booking with Eurostar especially, but the others you can book closer to departure, a week or two except at busy times...

Thank you! Ive booked my flight from Amsterdam to london now! I'm grinning like a lunatic. I'm so excited it just keeps bubbeling up! Like omfg!

 

[Red Cat]

The train into Marseille first thing in the morning is wonderful

 

[ice-is-forming]

The train into Marseille first thing in the morning is wonderful

Doing that

 

[DJWrongspeed]

The train into Marseille first thing in the morning is wonderful

Yup, London to Marseille is a great train journey. Make sure you leave plenty of time in Paris so you can at least have lunch there and not feel rushed dashing across to the Gare du Lyon.

 

[ice-is-forming]

Yup, London to Marseille is a great train journey. Make sure you leave plenty of time in Paris so you can at least have lunch there and not feel rushed dashing across to the Gare du Lyon.

I'll be stopping in Paris for a few days, tans brother lives there. Then it'll be Paris to Marseilles by train

Just trying to hash together what happens after we get off the boat in Venice on the 12 may. I'm thinking Venice>milan>tirano>berrina train over the alps via St moritz>chur to Geneva>fly to the dam. Fly out of the dam on the 18th

It'll be a rush but we'll have just spent eight days on a chilled cruise

Omfg! I seriously can't believe I'm going

 

[Mrs Miggins]

That sounds absolutely wonderful! The train will be amazing and such a great way to see the alps.

I'm very envious!!!

We expect pics!!!

 

[ice-is-forming]

That sounds absolutely wonderful! The train will be amazing and such a great way to see the alps.

I'm very envious!!!

We expect pics!!!

there will be pics

 

[Mrs Miggins]

And you'll let us know if there's any opportunity for a London meet up whem you're here?

 

[ice-is-forming]

I wasn't planning this, i have no passport and no money saved but.... never go window shopping at the flight centre with tans before i knew it i'd accidentlied a five week holiday! luckily i have six weeks paid leave up my sleeve, plus the whole thing including flights and cruise is costing $3000AUD so thats not hard. Just gotta save for trains and food and a bit of accommodation and sorted

I arrive on easter sunday and will be in SE london/kent for that week so yes! for sure london meetup How about Sat April 27th?

 

[not-bono-ever]

if i still have my shit expedition car lying around, you are welcome to get yourself insured and use it if you need to get around the UK

 

[ice-is-forming]

if i still have my shit expedition car lying around, you are welcome to get yourself insured and use it if you need to get around the UK

Thank you! I think I'll be good for a car in the uk if not I'll give you a shout..

 

[ice-is-forming]

So is the train from Paris to Monaco a good trip? And then drive from Monaco to Marseilles to catch the ship?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

So is the train from Paris to Monaco a good trip? And then drive from Monaco to Marseilles to catch the ship?

Monaco is an expensive shit-hole. Train to Nice, then drive from there to Marseille, via a night in Bandol to guzzle the finest wines available to humanity

 

[ice-is-forming]

Monaco is an expensive shit-hole. Train to Nice, then drive from there to Marseille, via a night in Bandol to guzzle the finest wines available to humanity

Oo ta I had decided to give Monaco a miss now and just get the Paris to Marseilles train.

It looks like this atm..

April 21st arrive London/kent>april 28th train to paris>stay in Paris one night >april 29th stay with tans brother> 3rd May train to marseilles>May 4th cruise>arrive Venice may 12th 8am > may 13th train in the afternoon to Milan>May 15th early train to chur on the berrina train line> may 15th stay in Zurich> may 16th early train to Amsterdam> may 18th 7am fly back to London> fly out of London may 19th 10pm> arrive Bangkok may 21st>flight to the jungle village for three days> back to Bangkok>fly back to Australia in 24th May> arrive home may 25th

And B.R.E.A.T.H

 

[ice-is-forming]

Done and dusted, passport arrived, everything booked and paid for apart from Eurorail as can't book that until about Feb

 

[ice-is-forming]

Can anyone advise about a couple of things please?

Money, can I swipe a Visa or MasterCard world wide. Can I use it to withdraw cash. Can I use it in an atm.

Phones, I'll need to use a phone in uk/ europe. I'll mostly need data. If I bring my own phone (not on a plan) can I get a prepaid sim card that'll work in an Australian phone?

Thank you

 

[dessiato]

Visa/MasterCard should work without a problem. Make sure that they you notify your bank/issuer because they might flag as suspicious activity and be stopped.

If your phone is unlocked and Europe compatible then SIM cards are cheap and plentiful. Check the phone first.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I noticed by baggage reclaim at Heathrow the other day that there are vending machines to buy sim cards pre-loaded with calls and data.

Dunno what it's like in Oz, throughout Western Europe you're never more than a couple of minutes away from a cafe, pub or shop that has Wi-Fi you can tap in to.

 

[teuchter]

So let me cross thread a bit please is it cheaper to fly London/ Paris and Zurich / Amsterdam ? Because I'll be booking soon. I quite fancy the train rides for the experience but that could change with the costs...

Your question on the other thread. It sometimes is cheaper to fly and it sometimes appears cheaper to fly but isn't, if you add in the cost of getting from the airport to the city at each end.

The train is the better experience, or at least the one that lets you see how Europe is strung together.

On London/Paris Eurostar is in quite hot competition with the airlines so you should be able to find similar prices if you book a bit in advance.

Often it is quite possible to beat the flying price but only with a bit of shopping around and a bit of knowledge about how the various national systems work. The seat61 website has probably already been suggested to you as a good staring point for booking train travel in Europe. The main problem with booking rail tickets is that there are not convenient comparison site systems that'll quickly scan a load of fare options for you in the same way that yo can do with flights. The European train operators aren't brilliantly co-ordinated in offering you easy-to purchase international tickets on all routes. This means that if you ask at a travel agent or on some websites, for certain journeys you'll be quoted enormous fares which can actually be beaten. This is not an issue for Paris/London but it might be for Zurich/Amsterdam. If you want to post the best fare you are getting for that journey for a certain date, I might be able to help you find something better. If you want to understand Europe it's much better to do these journeys by rail than by air.

 

[teuchter]

Venice>milan>tirano>berrina train over the alps via St moritz>chur to Geneva>

Worth doing. NB that when going over the Bernina Pass etc, you don't have to take the 'named' trains. The regular local trains go on exactly the same route and would tend to be my preference, because you don't feel quite so much part of a tourist-processing machine. You don't get the giant panoramic windows but you get to travel on some more atmospheric rolling stock (in my opinion).
I think the 'Bernina Express' route is maybe more interesting than the 'Glacier Express' one by the way, but no harm in doing both in one go (I did that just last year).

 

[ice-is-forming]

Worth doing. NB that when going over the Bernina Pass etc, you don't have to take the 'named' trains. The regular local trains go on exactly the same route and would tend to be my preference, because you don't feel quite so much part of a tourist-processing machine. You don't get the giant panoramic windows but you get to travel on some more atmospheric rolling stock (in my opinion).
I think the 'Bernina Express' route is maybe more interesting than the 'Glacier Express' one by the way, but no harm in doing both in one go (I did that just last year).

Thank you

Yes I'll go the domestic route on the berina and tbh other than flying back from Amsterdam to London cos of time limitations it's all gonna be rail well apart from the long haul flights...

 

[ice-is-forming]

Visa/MasterCard should work without a problem. Make sure that they you notify your bank/issuer because they might flag as suspicious activity and be stopped.

If your phone is unlocked and Europe compatible then SIM cards are cheap and plentiful. Check the phone first.

Do I get a fee for currency conversion on each transaction? And i need to check if my phone is Euro compatible Thank you

 

[Spymaster]

Do I get a fee for currency conversion on each transaction? And i need to check if my phone is Euro compatible Thank you

By the time you come here, Revolut should be up and running in Australia, in which case get one of these which will make currency management a whole lot cheaper and easier.

 

[ice-is-forming]

By the time you come here, Revolut should be up and running in Australia, in which case get one of these which will make currency management a whole lot cheaper and easier.

Thanks

 

[rutabowa]

Its prob too late but you can get a "rail and sail" train and overnight ferry (with a sleeping cabin) from amsterdam to london which is v pleasant and can work out cheaper than flight + overnight accommodation.

 

[davesgcr]

Its prob too late but you can get a "rail and sail" train and overnight ferry (with a sleeping cabin) from amsterdam to london which is v pleasant and can work out cheaper than flight + overnight accommodation.

Which is a very civilised experience in my opinion. (the Hook - not Amsterdam - train to Rotterdam and now a new fangled tram , but all in the price. Someone told me there is a handy coffee shop not far from the ship terminal

 

[ice-is-forming]

Can anyone advise what to do with my Sim card? I'd like to be able to make calls if necessary. But I'm not overly concerned about that.

What I do need though is to be able to access the internet using my Aus phone in a variety of countries. I understand that there are heaps of free hot spots but id prefer to have access at anytime (just about being in touch with my kids) oh and maps

Thank you

I've read the replies up thread but am wondering if I need a different Sim for each european country? My phone is unlocked

Got all the banking stuff sorted with international banking with my Aus bank

 

[ice-is-forming]

So funny because the photo is just like the place Im leaving not traveling to